There’s a possibly apocryphal statement from Henry Kissinger about precisely this sentiment of westernizing Greek history/identity specifically to advance western imperialism.

“Greek people are anarchic and difficult to tame. For this reason we must strike deep into their cultural roots: Perhaps then we can force them to conform. I mean, of course, to strike at their language, their religion, their cultural and historical reserves, so that we can neutralize their ability to develop, to distinguish themselves, or to prevail; thereby removing them as an obstacle to our strategically vital plans in the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.”

Being called anarchic and difficult to tame by this evil man is something to take pride in.

My yiayia would often remember when she was “not white.” In our family’s lore, her father’s business in the Greek part of the city where they lived narrowly avoided being firebombed by the Klan.

From https://www.wpr.org/news/shooting-police-madison-east-side-protest-concerts-on-the-square

Wednesday’s shooting took place in the same neighborhood where a Madison police officer fatally shot Tony Robinson, a 19-year-old Black man, inside an apartment building in 2015.

Robinson was unarmed. The Dane County District Attorney did not issue charges against that police officer, after determining the officer had reason to fear for his life after concluding that Robinson had physically assaulted the officer at the top of the stairs within the building.

Bodycams change very little beside offering an up close view of the inhumane cruelty police dispatch against citizens. Bodycams were never a solution. Vanishingly few instances of police being punished for their behavior while wearing a bodycam.

But capturing them from within their own country and charging them with crimes in your country’s legal system is okay.

I wouldn’t over work it unless you think you can learn more. I think this would serve better as a study of contrasts. I don’t see much to critique in the technical aspects of your application of watercolors. Your wet-on-dry technique for the two figures, particularly the woman’s bust and left arm, is admirable. Perhaps the main distraction is the woman’s anatomy. While her chest, hips, and right thigh are great, there are issues with the articulation of her right shoulder and neck that are harder to forgive (since other aspects of the work are comparatively “better”). The other thing might be the background. It’s difficult to maintain a sense of ambient light in this underwater scene.

The major successes are the overall composition and the colors, which I find very controlled, in a good way.

Neat! I like how these colors are blocked in. The yellow on the leaf veins was a good choice. I especially like the rendering of the leaves on the right tomato.

Was this watercolor or marker?

The hatching on the club is very well-executed. And those boots! Good job!

Ok first of all France isn’t even real

Cam anyone provide a cleaned up version of this meme that’s not a screenshot from TikTok or whatever?

1910, Sometimes you forget that human beings have always been silly lil guys.

That’s understandable, no one wants to feel lectured to or like they were indoctrinated earlier in life. That’s actually a big concern my partner and I have. That’s why we don’t explicitly teach them Marxist theory. I’m not going to explain to my 5-year-old what dialects are. That’s a discussion for a late teen or early adult. But I do help them develop a sense for dialectical thinking through example. That is not indoctrination, dialectics are a critical thinking skill that has utility outside of politics. Perhaps I’m being imprecise when I talk about what I think kids should be taught in terms of Marxist ideas. You are absolutely that there are examples of children of prominent communists who turned into reactionaries, I’m thinking of Stalin’s daughter who defected to the US. However, I will counter that with the entire country of China, where children (I believe typically stating in early teen years) are explicitly taught Marxist philosophy, though that is probably grossly oversimplifying their curriculum, which I know way too little about.

I know what you mean when you say “brainwashing”, but I don’t think teaching children foundational Marxist ideas is at all brainwashing. In my experience as a parent and an early childhood/elementary educator, children are not naturally selfish nor are they naturally empathetic. This isn’t to say that a child’s mind is entirely tabula rasa. Children are in general much more welcoming and accepting of others. Our capitalist society encourages kids to be kind and to show each other respect. However, if a child’s material conditions and societal circumstances also encourage things like selfishness, competition, obedience — moreover those behaviors that perpetuate capitalist attitudes and are contradictory to values like empathy and kindness — then they will of course develop these more anti-society ways of thinking.

I believe it is important for kids to be shown the contradictions between what they are taught is important in early childhood (fairness, kindness, empathy, cooperation, etc) and what they are taught throughout the rest of their childhood/adolescence (what I mean is things like the exhalation of certain historical figures or lies about socialist movements, things like that).

Just commented on a different thread about teaching kids Marxist theory. It’s something I think about a lot, but since my kids are 5 and 3 it’s not like I’m gonna be talking to them about what dialectics are. But anyway, we just went on a trip to a major metropolitan, and our 5-year-old noticed a few tents under a bridge and commented on how fun it’d be to camp in a city. We talked about what being unhoused means and how we think everyone should have a home no matter what. I think the most important part of our conversation was talking about how my partner and I couldn’t have gotten a home without the support of others, like our parents, their parents, the builders, our friends, etc. They don’t have a firm grasp on what exactly money is, so I’m not sure they would have understood how wages impact one’s ability to afford a home. We do make a conscious distinction between “affording” something and “deserving” something, as those are often conflated in capitalist thought.

I think we’re doing a good job. Though it is hard to believe sometimes. My kids are very empathic. We all have different natural aptitudes, but I have to believe their empathy is the result of the work my partner and I put into fostering it. I hope it’s helpful for them in the future. My partner and I are empathic people, and it’s stifling at times. It’s hard caring, really caring about people you don’t know and will never meet.

Trip was great though!

Anyway, this is all to say that we are deliberately laying the groundwork for more serious discussions in the future and actively trying to elevate their class consciousness. All of that comes before theory.

I am not currently teaching my children explicit Marxist theory. Mainly because they are 5 and 3. However, my partner and I focus a lot on fostering empathy in our children. We often talk about workers (as in people who make things, not simply people who have invented something) and how all people are in community with one another in some way. Its kinda cool having a small kid say stuff like “I think the worker had the wrong string for this toy.” or “The worker put the best blueberries in this one.” On a recent trip to a major metropolitan our 5-year-old noticed a few tents under a bridge and commented on how fun it’d be to camp in a city. We talked about what being unhoused means and how we think everyone should have a home no matter what. I think the most important part of our conversation was talking about how my partner and I couldn’t have gotten a home without the support of others, like our parents, their parents, the builders, our friends, etc. They don’t have a firm grasp on what exactly money is, so I’m not sure they would have understood how wages impact one’s ability to afford a home. We do make a conscious distinction between “affording” something and “deserving” something, as those are often conflated in capitalist thought.

You’re right. Middle Earth isn’t Medieval Europe. It’s ancient Europe. That’s what Tolkien imagined anyway. So maybe in mythical European history there were potatoes. In actuality, there were probably a lot more people with darker skin tones in pre-history Europe.

I got diddly for sound. That’s a hard one to get right with a laptop mic. You could try using the mic on some earphones. They’ll do a pretty good job of picking up your voice but not so much for any ambient sound.

Some thoughts for overhead top lighting. If you just have a single LED fixture, it might not actually be bright enough with a diffuser to get good results. But definitely play around with it, changing the orientation of your camera/subject, different diffusing materials, the ISO if that’s possible, things like that. You can also try “bouncing” the light onto your subject from a different angle using various materials. I literally use a tin roasting tray to bounce light off of for photographing artwork. Lamps come in handy too.

An old photography/videography trick is using a shower curtain as a light diffuser. Works really well. A lot more light will pass through than a t-shirt and it’ll be more uniformily diffused.

Still can’t wear a mask properly